Michael Twitty’s Matzah Meal Fried Chicken

This is a blend of old school, antebellum recipes with my own special Kosher/Soul touch.

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

2 teaspoons of Bell’s Poultry Seasoning

2 teaspoons of coarse ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 teaspoon of (sweet) paprika

1/4 teaspoon of allspice

1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves

2 Kosher chickens, preferably fryers, cut into breast, wing, leg and thigh portions

4 eggs beaten and mixed with a little water for an egg wash

3 cups of matzah meal

KFP cooking oil or if you are Sephardic like me Vegetable Oil mixed with Crisco.

1. Combine the salt and seasonings together in a bowl.

2.  Wash chicken and pat dry.  Season the chicken with the spice mixture and set aside for a few hours

3.  Prepare the egg wash by beating eggs by fork and mix with a little water.

4.  Prepare your station—the egg wash should be in a shallow dish.  The matzah meal should be

5. You should place the coated chicken pieces on a rack over a cookie sheet in the refrigerator to set.  This will help keep the coating on.  The chicken can sit for 30 minutes or less.

6.  Heat the cooking oil until hot but not smoking; about 325 degrees or so.  Follow the rules of frying chicken!

Ease the pieces into the frying pan or Dutch oven.

Do not crowd the pan.

Remember dark pieces take a bit longer to achieve doneness.

Seasoning the coating is a no no because some herbs and spices will burn in the coating…

Adding more chicken will cool the oil–adjust accordingly.

Fry around 8 minutes a side and turn to brown all around another four minutes per piece.  Use your best judgement–crispy and golden brown on the outside doesn’t mean done on the inside.  To test, you should aim for 160 or above for white meat and at or above 175 for dark meat.  The appearance of the chicken and the doneness of the meat inside are the two factors you have to balance when frying chicken.   There is no exact formula so have an oil thermometer handy, a meat thermometer handy, and use your eyes, ears, and nose to do the rest of the work.   Use TONGS not a fork to deal with the chicken.  Want to gauge a good color for chicken? Try this:

7.  When the pieces are done transfer them to a clean rack over paper towels on a cookie sheet.  Want to get rid of more oil?  After five minutes transfer to a plate or basket or bowl with paper towels, just don’t do this when they come out of the pan fresh or else it will affect the crust.

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